


Moving Day

by Avenging_is_My_Day_Job



Series: Halfway Human [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cyborg Tony Stark, Gen, Post-Avengers (2012), Team as Family, cyborg!tony, moving in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 18:23:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14526480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avenging_is_My_Day_Job/pseuds/Avenging_is_My_Day_Job
Summary: "I have the dexterity to hold a pencil, Steve, I built most of the furniture here and I swear, on my creator's grave, that it's safe."--Tony's not so sure about living with a team of superheroes.





	Moving Day

**Author's Note:**

> I promised something fluffy, but it's a tad shorter than I would like. More to come!

After the fight was over, and they had all gone their separate ways to deal, to grieve - _one less person who knows your secret_ \- and to recover, Tony finally returned to the tower to assess the damage. It was then that he got a _good_ idea about what transpired. The holes in his floor and the debris from Loki's and the Hulk's brief match in the living room, the broken windows and destroyed office equipment from stray blasts and crashed Chitauri crafts. 

Aside from being out several thousand dollars on the new construction, he at _least_ got a sample of Loki's blood from it. What he managed to scrape off the crumbled floor was stored under as many safeguards as the suits, and it presented an amazing opportunity. That, however, was being saved for a rainy day.

Tony had ended up doing most of the non-structural repairs himself, since most of the city's - no, the _state's_ \- contractors and crews were tied up with work elsewhere. Whatever needed permits was done while he and Pepper stood by overseeing progress. Correction, while Iron Man and Pepper stood by. Not even basic construction crews were to be trusted. People were nosy. He felt a twinge of satisfaction when a crew member brushed by, casting wary glances and staying careful not to bump into the imposing suit of armor watching their every move. Pepper chided him for scaring the people rebuilding their home, but he didn't feel guilty. Not for making sure said home was safe to live in, not for making sure they didn't snoop.

_I have eyes and ears everywhere guys_

It took a few weeks to get it all done, to a degree he could pay the crews and send them home, at least. The checks were hefty, not only for the amount and quality of the work, but for having the patience and self-restraint while working for him. After that, Pep rearranged her schedule and gave him the all clear to redecorate to his heart's content, then promptly boarded the jet back to California for a much deserved change of scenery and atmosphere. 

Most of the furniture had already been delivered and assembled, what hadn't been was put together by himself and a handful of bots from the workshop. All that left was decor, and, for once, he was attempting to make the place look homey and warm, not sleek and modern. Not to say they couldn't be one and the same. He spent a good few hours one night arranging books on the shelves in the lounge, hanging art in the hallways, including but not limited to the entire collection of vintage Captain America posters that he'd found in the crates of his dad's old stuff. 

He might pay for that one later, but it would be worth it. Nothing better to brighten a room than Cap's rosy cheeks.

" _Sir, Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers are in the lobby,_ " Tony paused his attempt to assemble an ikea bridging shelf when Jarvis derailed his focus.

"Both?"

" _I believe they carpooled_." Somehow that was kind of hilarious. He stood and dusted off his jeans, pushing the pieces of wood and the bags of screws to the side. He had a suit waiting nearby, since he was expecting at least one guest to arrive today. The room wasn't perfectly organized but it was livable, and presentable. He weaved through the boxes to get to the suit, relaxing as it closed around him like a second skin.

"Send 'em up," he said, then set to work moving boxes out of the way. Off the chairs and sofa, from the counter, from anyplace sit-able and put them against walls and neatly stacked them in chairs. Was he a little _too_ worried about what they would think?

...

Nah.

Finally, the elevator at the end of the hall _pinged_ to announce it's arrival, before the doors opened and two of his new teammates stepped out. Banner hung back a few seconds, looking around like an awestruck kid, while Rogers crossed the length of the corridor in a few short strides, focus settling on Tony before scanning the room. They both weren't carrying much, but he imagined they probably wouldn't have that much to their names. He could fix that.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Tony opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, eliciting a relieved and amused smile from Banner.

"You live here?" Rogers asked, curiously. 

"I have a workshop here. Hang out in the penthouse when I need a change of scenery." _Whenever I need to sleep_. "You can put your stuff down, if you want to hang out here. Or hop back on that elevator and Jarvis will take you to your floors."

"He's the guy that buzzed us in, right?" Banner asked.

"...Sort of."

" _Pardon the misunderstanding, Doctor Banner, but I am an artificial intelligence, much like Iron Man._ "

"I thought you were a robot," Rogers said, and Tony had to wait a few seconds to see if he was joking. 

"Also sort of," he finally continued, realizing that they were waiting on a response from him. "Stark made me to use the armors that he built before he died."

The Captain decided to change the subject, and Tony was _sort of_ grateful for that. "Were you building furniture?" He seemed a bit incredulous, and Tony picked up the pieces of the shelf and started putting them together once more just for emphasis. 

"I have the dexterity to hold a _pencil_ , Steve, I built most of the furniture here and I swear, on my creator's grave, that it's safe."

For a moment he was concerned that might have been too dark a turn to make, but then Steve snorted, even if he tried to look disapproving. Tony laughed a little bit too, then gave up on the shelf and tossed the remnants onto the sofa cushions. 

Tony left the individual apartments largely undecorated, leaving the opportunity to Banner and Rogers to customize to their heart's content. They stayed out of his hair for a few days, settling in, and frankly, just avoiding crossing paths with him too much. He understood, and left them to their business while he finished up with the final touches elsewhere in the tower. When it was done, it didn't exactly look _lived_ in, but that would change in the coming months. But it didn't look cold, and he counted that as a win.

He showed them around, Bruce particularly to the labs, and Steve to the gym and training rooms, and they established a sort of routine. Sometime during week number two, Agent Romanov finally checked in. 

"Nice of you to join us," Tony said, when she finally made an appearance in the common area. She had clearly wasted no time with the pleasantries that the other two had when they arrived. She was dressed down and her hair was tied back, like she had found her apartment before seeking anyone out. She also looked far more exhausted than she was attempting to show, so he could tell that coming up there to see them was more than enough effort.

"Nice of you to let us live here," she replied, taking a book from one of the many shelves before procuring a cozy chair near the window.

"I hope it's up to your standards," he said, "Pepper said something about a ballet studio, so I did have one of those put in on the training level."

"Jarvis told me. Thank you," she was blunt. To the point, but entirely genuine. There was no hostility in her voice, and even if she didn't fully trust him, at least she was somewhat comfortable. And didn't outright despise him, but he wouldn't really have a problem with that either. She wouldn't be the first.

"You put a lot of effort into making us comfortable," she continued, holding the book in her lap, "More than I would expect from a computer."

"Programming," he said, "I think Stark would have cared, so that's what I do."

She looked at him. Closely. "You sound like you feel guilty."

"He created me to protect him. He died anyway," _I built those weapons to protect people, and they died anyway_.

"I know what the others think," she replied, quietly. "I think you _are_ living up to the legacy that he made for you. You might be an AI, but you're still just a computer doing what you were made to do." That started out nice but took an unexpected twist. 

"Ouch, that hurts. If anything, I'm like Sonny from _I, Robot_. Once Birdbrain and Goldilocks get here, we can have a movie night. Maybe educate the lot of you about delicate computer sensibilities."

"I see Stark programmed you with his obnoxious sense of sarcasm," she rolled her eyes, opening the book and turning through to the first chapter.

"Only the best."

The conversation was over, and she would likely ignore any further attempts at small talk, so Tony left her to her book, and the likely conversation she or one of the others would strike up in his absence. It wasn't a big step, but it was good. It was progress. They were getting comfortable around one another.

* * *

Barton arrived another two weeks later, with Thor trailing after him like a lost dog. Romanov helpfully explained that Fury was holding the archer back to escort the demigod when he finally returned from Asgard. 

Thor was happy to explore the tower and converse with Jarvis about the various functions of each item he didn't recognize, which impressively wasn't much. He wasn't at all disturbed by Tony's presence, greeted him like they were, quote, shieldbrothers, and thanked him profusely for opening his home. 

And Barton was quiet and reserved and was as distrusting as ever.

Now, Tony was far from being an expert, but he suspected that some of Barton's hostility was rooted in his stint as Loki's puppet. Thus, he didn't push the issue, he didn't make jokes, and he kept a reasonable distance so the man could adjust on his own. Romanov seemed relieved, Rogers kept an eye on him, Bruce was content to keep to himself still, and Thor had yet to stop treating each and every one of them like old friends. The dynamic seemed to be set in stone, now. It would improve, with time. But these were their roles, and he had to be willing to accept his for now to keep the peace.

Part of Tony - okay, _all_ parts of Tony - hoped that this arrangement was wholly unnecessary. The invasion brought them together, promising the need for a group such as themselves to band together and save the world time after time in the future... But really, he felt like the invasion was the culmination of it all. The worst of the worst, and there was no reason to stick together anymore. They could part ways on good terms, keep in touch and maybe go out to lunch once in awhile, but how often is something like that going to happen?

Who was he kidding? He loved this. 

The team was a family. They were _his family_ , and he wouldn't give them up for the world.


End file.
